- 1. Foundations of Individual Behavior 2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved.
2. Chapter Learning Objectives
- After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
- Contrast the two types of ability.
- Define intellectual ability and demonstrate its relevance to OB.
- Identify the key biographical characteristics and describe how they are relevant to OB.
- Define learning and outline the principles of the three major theories of learning.
- Define shaping, and show how it can be used in OB.
- Show how culture affects our understanding of intellectual abilities, biographical characteristics, and learning.
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 3. Ability
- An individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job.
- Made up of two sets of factors:
- The abilities needed to perform mental activities.
- General Mental Ability (GMA) isa measure of overall intelligence.
- Wonderlic Personnel Test: a quick measure of intelligence for recruitment screening.
- No correlation between intelligence and job satisfaction.
- The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar characteristics.
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 4. Dimensions of Intellectual Ability E X H I B I T2 12- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 5. Nine Basic Physical Abilities
E X H I B I T2 2 2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 6. Biographical Characteristics
- Objective and easily obtained personal characteristics.
- Older workers bring experience, judgment, a strong work ethic, and commitment to quality.
- Few differences between men and women that affect job performance.
- Race(the biological heritage used to identify oneself)
- Contentious issue: differences exist, but could be more culture-based than race-based.
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 7. Other Biographical Characteristics
- People with job tenure (seniority at a job) are more productive, absent less frequently, have lower turnover, and are more satisfied.
- Islam is especially problematic in the workplace in this post-9/11 world.
- Federal law does not protect against discrimination (but state or local laws may).
- Domestic partner benefits are important considerations.
- Relatively new issue transgendered employees.
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 8. Learning
- Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 9. Theories of Learning
- A type of conditioning in which an individual responds to some stimulus that would not ordinarily produce such a response.
- A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.
- People can learn through observation and direct experience.
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 10. Classical Conditioning
- A naturally occurring phenomenon.
- The naturally occurring response to a natural stimulus.
- An artificial stimulus introduced into the situation.
- The response to the artificial stimulus.
- This is a passive form of learning.It is reflexive and not voluntary not the best theory for OB learning.
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 11. Operant Conditioning
- B. F. Skinners concept ofBehaviorism :behavior follows stimuli in a relatively unthinking manner .
- Conditioned behavior: voluntary behavior that is learned, not reflexive.
- Reinforcement: the consequences of behavior which can increase or decrease the likelihood of behavior repetition.
- Pleasing consequences increase likelihood of repetition.
- Rewards are most effective immediately after performance.
- Unrewarded/punished behavior is unlikely to be repeated.
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 12. Social-Learning Theory
- Based on the idea that people can also learnindirectly : by observation, reading, or just hearing about someone elses a models experiences .
- Must recognize and pay attention to critical features to learn.
- Models actions must be remembered to be learned.
- Motor reproduction processes
- Watching the models behavior must be converted to doing.
- Positive incentives motivatelearners.
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 13. Shaping: A Managerial Tool
- Systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves an individual closer to the desired response.
- Four Methods of Shaping Behavior:
- Providing a reward for a desired behavior (learning)
- Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired behavior occurs (learning)
- Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior (unlearning)
- Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its cessation (unlearning)
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 14. Schedules of Reinforcement: A Critical Issue
- A desired behavior is reinforced each time it is demonstrated
- Intermittent Reinforcement
- A desired behavior is reinforced often enough to make the behavior worth repeating but not every time it is demonstrated
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 15. Types of Intermittent Reinforcement
- Depends on the number of responses made.
- Depends on the time between reinforcements.
- Rewards are spaced at uniform time intervals or after a set number of responses.
- Rewards that are unpredictable or that vary relative to the behavior.
2- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. 16. Schedules of Reinforcement E X H I B I T2 32- 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc.All rights reserved. Fixed-rat